The Stag Prince
by CowboySteel
Summary: James and Lily had a fairytale romance but they never had the fairytale ending. So I decided to give them a fairytale storyline. A posh way of me saying I watched The Swan Princess and really wanted to make a Jily AU. Enjoy. If you dare. J/L. AU sort of .
1. Prologue

_In true Jily-shipping fashion, I was watching The Swan Princess and couldn't stop thinking about James and Lily and how they could fit into the story. So of course, I tried to write it. A Swan Princess Jily AU. It's not completely AUish, it has wands and it's the same situation pretty much but the storyline has changed and the ending has too. No spoilers there. Anyway. I hope you enjoy it. Bye!_

* * *

The Stag Prince

James Potter and Lily Evans hated each other, so the story goes. Their tale was not a happily ever after nor a once upon a time. They were not friends, they were not enemies. It was much more complicated than that. She was a Winter baby, born as the snow fell. He was born in Spring, amongst the daffodils as the rain poured. They might not have known that the other existed; they inhabited two entirely different worlds. His was rich, hers was not. His was magical, hers was not – not at the start at least. Somehow, their worlds collided and Lily and James were meant to be. They were married, had a child and died, leaving this life as deeply in love as they had started in their short-lived romance. Their romance defied their circumstances and changed their story as it was being written. But their story is not a fairytale. It is not a happily ever after nor a once upon a time.

This is not the story of Lily and James as you have heard it before. It might resemble it, in some ways. Lily will always be fierce and James will always be cocky. They will endure terrible sadness as well as unthinkable joy. They will defy circumstance and overcome the odds. Love will conquer all, as it did in their story. But this is not their story. It is mine, and mine will be a fairytale. Mine will be the fairytale Lily read when she was little. Mine will be the fairytale James never heard of. My story will be the fairytale James and Lily deserved.


	2. It's Not What It Seems

Chapter 1: It's Not What It Seems

Once upon a time, in the dreary mill Town of Cokeworth, a ginger girl lived in a house. She did not live in the topmost tower of a castle, nor was she the heir to a great kingdom. She did not pretend her life was anything other than what it was but she was a dreamer nonetheless. She knew what her life was now and she knew what she wanted it to be. She wanted to change the world, be seen as more than the pretty face she was renowned for. She wanted to live passionately, and regret nothing, though she knew neither of these was healthy in the end. She wanted to live and be free to do so. She was fiery and strong-willed and kind. And she was daddy's little princess.

She lived alone with her father, her sister long since moved out and her mother long since dead. She was the apple of her father's eye and he, now grown old, was hoping to see her grown up and married. His happiness now relied on hers but neither he nor she would settle for less than she deserved. Lily Evans deserved the best.

Mr Evans had often heard of a boy called James Potter. His wife had recounted the events Lily wrote home about and this Potter boy cropped up endlessly. He was rich, apparently, conceited and Lily hated him with a fiery passion. Mrs Evans had also raised her eyebrows quite knowingly at Lily's emphatic denouncement of James Potter but Lily had never softened. James Potter was an arse and that was that. Mr Evans had never pressed the matter.

One day, however, Lily came running into their modest, overwhelmingly brown living room, brandishing a thick envelope and bouncing with excitement.

"Dad!" She had said breathlessly, "We've been invited to the Potters. A party."

He had known then what his wife had known all those years ago. The blush on Lily's face, the tell-tale quivers of anticipation as she approached the Potters' huge front door, the slightly over-enthusiastic eye makeup – Lily was in love.

Over the next few months, Mr Evans saw a lot of James Potter. He appeared at their door uninvited several times, asking Lily to go out for ice cream, inviting her for a trip to the beach with his friends. Lily seemed fine with these appearances and so Mr Evans said nothing. He was happy if she was happy.

It all changed, however, when James knocked at the Evans' front door having been invited for once. Lily was taking him to the cinema. Clearly James had not known what to expect, as he turned up in a suit, his hair looking like it had been combed at least once but had refused to conform to whatever James' comb had been trying to achieve. Lily had laughed all the way down the stairs and out of the door. Mr Evans almost felt sorry for the lad, but reminded himself that James could afford to be taken down a peg or two by his daughter. Especially after the stories he had heard.

Mr Evans was watching television when the two returned. He heard voices down the street and was about to go and open the door to remind them to be quiet when he realised their voices were less than happy. They were shouting at each other. He turned down the television and moved to the window, twitching the net curtains as he watched James Potter and Lily Evans tear into one another.

"Don't act like you don't know what this is!" James was shouting, his arms gesturing between him and Lily, indicating some abstract connection between the two.

"I don't know what this is! We hated each other, James! I'm not ready for-"

"For what? To be my girlfriend? You seemed ready when you were snogging my face off at my party!"

Lily blushed and her face softened a little.

"That was different. We were friends, sort of."

"And we're not now?"

"I don't know what we are now. Can't we just leave it as it is?"

James looked her searchingly, hopefully even. "Is this all it's ever going to be, Lily?" He asked quietly, clearly torn between not wanting to know the answer and needing to know the answer so desperately he could hardly breathe.

Lily looked at him with tears in her eyes, her bottom lip quivering as it had done ever since she was little. She shrugged.

"I don't know what else there can be."

Mr Evans winced as James' shoulders slumped and he nodded slowly, his face resigned.

"Thanks, Lily. That's all I needed to know."

He turned to leave but Lily stopped him. "Wait-" she started but James held a hand up to interrupt her.

"Don't. Just don't...Just leave me alone for a while, alright?" He asked, his face contorted a little as if he was trying to smile but just couldn't.

Lily nodded, swallowing hard and Mr Evans knew his night alone with the telly was lost now. His daughter needed him.

James walked off towards the alleyway and Lily jumped when she heard the crack of his departure. She turned to walk back to the house, tears already streaming down her face and she walked straight into the arms of her father, who closed the door behind them and they spoke of nothing until the next morning.

* * *

Lily awoke the next morning, warm in her bed, her favourite teddy tucked in beside her. Her father must have tucked her in after she fell asleep, crying in his arms about a stupid boy. But she loved that stupid boy; she had known it almost as soon as he left. She rubbed at her eyes with the heel of her hand and swallowed. She wouldn't cry again. She stood and walked to her wardrobe as a shout sounded out from downstairs. She stilled. "Dad?" She called out apprehensively.

"Lily, come down here! Quickly!"

She slammed her wardrobe door and ran out of her room, gasping at the sight at the bottom of the stairs. Mr Evans was kneeling, a tiny, grubby towel-shrouded body held in his arms. He looked up at Lily, confused and helpless. "I don't- I don't know-"

Lily galloped down the stairs, landing in a heap next to her father. "It's James' house-elf, Dad." She said, her arm brushing his as she leant over to check the poor creature over. "They work for old wizarding families."

Mr Evans nodded slowly, his mind working overtime to understand just what his daughter was on about. He didn't have time to ask anymore as the elf stirred in his arms.

The creature blinked slowly, eyes focussing on Lily. "Miss Evans." It croaked, it's huge eyes gazing at her imploringly. The redhead nodded, hushing the elf calmly. It shook its head. "Mr Potter...The Potters...we were attacked..."

Lily's eyebrows shot into her hairline and she tensed. "Is everyone okay?" Her voice was urgent, laced with desperation and worry.

The elf shook her head. "Docksy tried..." The elf's voice was failing and Lily fought not to shake it, knowing it must have taken great pains to get here in this state. She stroked it's ears gently, trying to soothe it's pain. The elf's eyes closed and Lily knew there was no more she could do. Her lip trembled. The poor elf - what had happened?

"James..." she breathed, standing up abruptly and grabbing her coat off the hook.

"Lily, wait!" Her dad tried to stop her but she shook her head, already half out of the door.

"I'm sorry dad, I'll explain later." She ran out, into the rain, pulling up her collar against the wind. She barely heard her father's shout of "Be careful!" as she made haste towards the same alley in which James had disapparated only yesterday. Her heart pounded as she silently prayed that he was okay. And his family too. His dad. Oh god, she hoped she would find them both alive. With those thoughts racing through her mind, she disapparated, with a loud crack that was lost amongst the noise of the raging storm.

She spun back into existence, knees buckling slightly her feet connected with the slick pavement of James' street. Stumbling a little as she started forward, she walked briskly to the Potters' house, her heart in her throat as she approached. She turned the corner and could not stifle the gasp that burst from her mouth. The Potters' door hung off the hinges, having been blasted open with some force. She breathed deeply, mostly to keep her hands from shaking even more, she kicked aside the broken gate and walked toward the house cautiously. She tucked a hair behind her ear and pushed at the door lightly, pulling out her wand as she did so.

"James? Hello?" She said, hating the fear in her voice. _Come on Lily. You're better than this. _She steeled herself as she stepped into the house. A hand flew to her mouth as she surveyed the scene.

The hallway was a mess – splinters of wood and whole sections of wall were broken and torn apart, huge gaping tears in the once-magnificent hall of the house. The far wall had buckled slightly, as if someone had collided with it and as she turned, she saw more debris and more destruction. A door remained closed but it was useless, as whatever had attacked the Potters had been more inclined to break through the wall. She felt herself shaking and took a deep breath to calm her down.

"Homenum revelio," she whispered. She knew in an instant that there were people here. Alive, whether they were friend or foe. She tiptoed through the large, open hallway, her wand gripped tightly in her hand, ready to defend herself as she dodged large shards of sharp wood strewn across the floor.

There was a gap between the doorframe and door, as the doorframe had been tormented by whatever had shattered the wall. She wondered what sort of wizard didn't use doors as she stepped through the now-bent doorframe, shoving the door away from her with difficulty. Suspicious and on her guard, she peeked around the room, her wand out in front of her, ready to shoot.

"James?" she said again, rather stupidly and uselessly she thought. Mentally berating herself for adopting bad horror film-chic, she stepped into the room fully, looking around her surroundings so fast that her hair whipped at her face. Books littered the floor, pages torn out and discarded on the carpet. A red substance dotted the carpet and she felt sick. Was that James' blood? Her breathing quickened and she stepped forward again. Her gaze fell on a wand lying discarded beside the sofa. She ran to it and picked it up, examining it closely. Breathing heavily, she felt her blood run cold as she saw the little indentation at the bottom – where James had chewed the end. It was James' wand. He didn't have it. She swallowed back tears and clutched the wand to her chest, her eyes closed. "Oh god, James," she breathed.

A whimper from behind her made her start.

She stood, whirling round to look for the cause of the sound. She gasped as saw him.

Mr Potter, an elderly man who she had seen not two weeks ago, was lying on the floor, behind the large door. His eyelids fluttered as his breath came in ragged bursts. Lily knelt by his side, her wand and James' pressed into the carpet as she leant over him.

"Mr Potter, can you hear me?" She asked clearly, checking him over for obvious injuries. Something had pierced his side and he looked like he had been bitten. Blood stained the carpet and she knew immediately she needed to get him expert help. She needed to get him to St. Mungo's. She called his name again and was about to try and tap his face a little when his eyes burst open, mak

He swallowed thickly, staring up at Lily with unfocussed eyes. She grabbed his hand and shook it a little in an effort to get him to see her properly. He clutched at his chest, his mouth opening and closing in an effort to speak. He wasn't going to make it.

"Who did this?" she asked faintly, horror lacing her voice. She looked him up and down as he struggled to breathe.

"It c-came s-so q...so quickly," Mr Potter stammered, his voice hoarse. "The Great Animal."

Lily's brow furrowed. Was he hallucinating?

"Mr Potter, where's James?" she said, hoping to rouse him from his delirium, hoping that he knew what had happened to his son.

Mr Potter shook his head, his hand reaching out to touch Lily's shoulder. "Listen to me, Lily," he croaked, "It's not what it seems." He clenched Lily's shoulder tightly and Lily noted a manic look in his eye as he implored her to listen. "It's not what it seems."

"What's not?" she asked, concerned, taking his hand in hers. "Mr Potter, where's James?" Her voice shook a little.

"James is-" he started, jerking a little as pain shot through him. Lily nodded encouragingly, giving his hand a squeeze. "James is-" - she leant forward a little, hanging on to every word, every hint he could give her – "...gone." His hand fell limp in hers and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Lily shook her head, her whole body shaking as she released his hand, delicately lowering it to the floor. She exhaled, trying to keep calm, her hands quivering over the body of the now limp man. Gently she closed his eyes with her fingers, tears silently spilling down her pale cheeks. She sat back on her haunches and eyes darting across the carpet. James was gone. The boy she loved had been taken and she had no idea where to start looking. Her bottom lip quivered and she buried her face into her hands. He was _gone. _

"James," she sobbed, her chest heaving with the pain of his loss. She fell forward, onto her hands and knees, her forehead grazing against the carpet as her hair fell in ribbons around her. "James!" Her scream echoed throughout the house and her sobs were the only things to be heard in Godrics Hollow that day, as they immersed themselves in the sad pitter patter of the rain on the windows.


End file.
